Let’s be honest: the process of moving generally isn’t considered “fun,” “great” or “stress-free” by any means. Add a hurricane into the mix and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a true nightmare. But with a little planning and a lot of perseverance, the show can go on, even when it’s up against a force of nature.

That’s what happened in the case of Tim and Alaina, a couple we recently moved from Washington, D.C. (him) and Manhattan (her) to Chicago to live together earlier this year. What they didn’t realize as they were planning their move was the fact that Superstorm Sandy would be rather literally coming along for the ride. Luckily, though, the couple had a Move Captain in their corner.

We caught up with Tim to hear more about the experience. Here’s what he had to share:

Walk us briefly through your moving process before the storm reared its ugly head.

Moveline took almost all the work out of the moving process for my girlfriend and I. We had no idea how difficult and time consuming it could be to find the right movers at the right price, especially since we’d need the movers to pick up my girlfriend’s things in Manhattan, my things in Washington, DC, then schlep the whole lot of it all the way out to Chicago.

From start to finish, Moveline simplified the entire process for us. After creating our account, we set up an appointment with Moveline to take an inventory of our belongings, which we conducted via Facetime on my iPhone. The inventory process was quick, precise and extremely convenient (and Brittany, our Move Captain, could not have been more friendly). Then, using our inventory, Moveline shared it with the moving companies they work with to get us the best price. Once we accepted, Moveline stayed in touch with us throughout the process to ensure that we were completely taken care of.

That level of attentiveness is what really stood out, and made my girlfriend and I feel like there was someone who was really looking out for us and our belongings.

So… moving during a superstorm. Tell us about that.

We were (already) working within a very tight timeline to complete this move. There were so many variables like current lease agreements, responsibilities with work, new job start dates, etc., that required a lot of planning and coordination. But hurricanes don’t care about your plans.

Moveline set us up with what I can only imagine was the only company that would move someone the day Hurricane Sandy slammed the east coast. While Manhattan was shutting down in preparation for the storm, these guys were loading a 28′ truck. While people were shuttering their homes and hoping for the best, these guys were driving for over six hours down I-95, dealing with bridge closures, traffic, and blistering wind and rain along the way. They showed up to my place, and with a quick smile and hello, started loading up my things in the dark and the rain.

Coming from a military family, I moved a lot as a kid, and I have never, ever seen something like that before. True professionals, those guys.

What was your reason for moving?

Eight months ago during a trip up (from DC), I met a girl in a bar during a lumberjack-themed party in Manhattan. She spotted me and asked me to pull a sparkled ornament off of the ceiling (as I am a taller fellow) and, being a sucker for a pretty face, I happily obliged.

When I handed her the ornament, she took it, said, “You’d look prettier like this,” and rubbed the sparkles into my beard. I fell madly, deeply in love in that moment, and spent the next two months vowing to sun and stars that, one day, she would be mine. We started dating and, eight months later, decided to move to a new city together.

And move they did.

In the end, it doesn’t matter if you’re moving to a new home for a relationship, a career, or just a change of scenery – obstacles will present themselves in the middle of what’s already an inherently stressful situation. With services like Moveline’s, folks like Tim and Alaina can get on with their lives, even in the face of adversity, thanks to a bit of professional tenacity from people who care about getting the job done right.

Stories like this are the reason we do what we do. Life is stressful (and awesome and scary and great) enough without adding frustration and a few 80 mph winds into the mix. We’re happy to take the edge off and get you where you’re going in one piece, with your possessions all accounted for and your sanity intact. So, here’s wishing Tim and Alaina a very happy future together. Congrats on your move, guys! Cheers!

Learn more about how Moveline works.